The Need for Partnerships – A LeadIT Stakeholder Briefing.
A briefing on the work of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) was held in Stockholm on 22nd February bringing together ambassadors and representatives from 12 countries encompassing the global south and the global north alongside government, industry and other stakeholders.
An essential pillar of the work of LeadIT 2.0 is to support partnerships and convene relevant government, industry, finance, and civil society stakeholders. This supports the acceleration of industry transition in the operations of existing LeadIT members but also looks to foster new collaborations.
The event was organised by the Indian Ambassador to Sweden, Tanmaya Lal and the LeadIT Secretariat in conjunction with the Swedish State Secretary for Climate and Environment, Daniel Westlén. In his opening address to the event Ambassador Lal higlighted LeadIT as a great example of real collaboration in the spirit of SDG 17 for “our collective low carbon future”.
“It is good to see that in LeadIT, countries from different geographies, population sizes, levels of development, needs, energy mix, technology and financial strength are coming together with companies of various sizes in different industries to work towards a common goal. Facilitated by research institutions and other entities”
Ambassador Tanmaya Lal
Embassy of India, Sweden
Since it’s inception in 2019 LeadIT has played a key role in pioneering collaborative industry platforms and has supported the deployment of the India-Sweden Industry Transition Platform as well as the Brazil-UK Industrial Decarbonization Hub, both of which are seen as guiding examples for strengthening North-South cooperation on industry transition. During the briefing Daniel Westlén, the Swedish State Secretary for Climate and Environment spoke about how North-South collaboration could prove the key for all nations to move forward with the ambition not just for emissions reduction but emissions elimination.
“We must collaborate in a postive and constructive spirit”...... “foster partnerships between major industry transition frontrunners and ambitious economies that wish to align their industrial development with the goals of the Paris Agreement”
Daniel Westlén
State Secretary for Climate and Environment, Government of Sweden
Head of the LeadIT Secretariat, Per Andersson outlined the work of LeadIT with a focus on what had already been achieved but highlighting the challenges still ahead to achieve the vision of aligning industry with the Paris Agreement to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Partnerships Lead for the Secretariat, Rob Watt concluded the briefing and introduced LeadIT industry members, SaltX, Vattenfall and SSAB who spoke about the benefits of membership in supporting knowledge sharing and the co-development of low carbon technologies